NORTHBROOK, ILL.—UL Environment, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and a global leader in environmental evaluation and certification, announced that it has launched an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Program. UL Environment’s EPD program provides a comprehensive, globally recognized, and scientifically robust mechanism to consistently evaluate environmental claims on products. Equivalent to a sustainability “nutrition label,” an EPD is the documentation of an audited Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the environmental performance of a product, based on approved Product Category Rules (PCRs) in accordance with ISO 14025 guidelines. UL Environment’s EPD program provides the structure and global scale...

MONTEREY, CALIF.—Setting the bar for environmentally-conscious hotels in Central California, Portola Hotel & Spa, located in the heart of Monterey, was recently granted its Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Portola Hotel & Spa becomes one of only three hotels in all of California and one of only six hotels in the United States to earn this level of accreditation in the Existing Building (EB) category. As an independent hotel brand, and an existing building, Portola Hotel & Spa achieved this certification as a result of a longstanding commitment by...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The appliance industry through the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) recently launched an independent verification program to confirm refrigerator and freezer internal volume and energy usage claims made by manufacturers and brand owners. This voluntary program is aimed at boosting the confidence of consumers, retailers and regulators in the validity of energy claims made by manufacturers of refrigerators and freezers sold in the United States and Canada.AHAM’s Refrigerator, Refrigerator-Freezer and Freezer Verification Program will also assist the Energy Star program, managed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in approval and monitoring of qualified appliances and the...

ORLANDO, FLA.—The 2011 NEWH Leadership Conference taking place at the , Universal Orlando, January 13 to 16, is delving into one of the industry’s hottest topics: sustainability. To kick off the green programming, a session on Friday, January 14 from 1:30 to 2:30 pm will look at sustainable certificates and standards for products including textiles and flooring. Confirmed panelists include Kenneth Koneck of Valley Forge Fabrics; John Reader of Desso Carpets; David Mahood, Olive Hospitality Consulting; Lora Spran, Associate Design Manager, Walt Disney World; and moderator Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor of Green Lodging News. On Saturday afternoon, January 15...

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA—Doyon/ARAMARK Joint Venture, which provides hospitality services such as operating bus tours, park shuttles, food and beverage outlets, campgrounds and retail outlets within Denali National Park & Preserve, has been honored with the 2010 Environmental Achievement Award for Environmental Management Systems by the National Park Service (NPS). Doyon/ARAMARK was recognized for designing and implementing programs and processes that minimize the operation’s overall environmental footprint at Denali. Since 2008, the management system has helped Doyon/ARAMARK achieve a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 20 percent at Denali, by reducing energy and water consumption and instituting greater fuel efficiency and recycling...

BOSTON—In the early stages of an $18 million renovation project, one that will see a complete guestroom and corridor redesign, the 38-story, 803-room Westin Copley Place in Boston is preparing to add to its long list of environmental achievements. In 2010 the property earned Green Key and Green Seal certification, an Energy Star rating, and significantly reduced its energy consumption, water consumption and waste sent to landfill. The hotel’s green team, which deserves much of the credit for the accomplishments, is led by Jeff Hanulec, director of engineering, an industry veteran constantly on the lookout for ways to improve operational...

BERKELEY, CALIF.—Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) released a new study on the installed costs of solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems in the United States, showing that the average cost of these systems declined by more than 30 percent from 1998 to 2008. Within the last year of this period, costs fell by more than 4 percent. The number of solar PV systems in the United States has been growing at a rapid rate in recent years, as governments at the national, state, and local levels have offered various incentives to expand the...

ORLANDO, FLA.—Clean the World has passed another significant milestone in its steady advance toward launching a global “hygiene revolution” with soap. The Orlando-based nonprofit organization has now distributed more than 7 million bars of soap to children and families in the United States, Haiti and more than 40 countries worldwide. Included in this number are 1.5 million bars of soap sent to Haiti since the January 2010 earthquake, with 300,000 soap bars delivered since an outbreak of cholera (diarrheal disease) in October. Clean the World now distributes a bar of soap every 9.2 seconds worldwide, while the death rate among...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo welcomed more than 28,000 attendees this past November at its show in Chicago. Attendees representing various backgrounds, professions and 114 countries filled the exhibit hall floor, educational and speaker sessions, green building tours and networking events that made up the three-day show. The nearly 200,000-square-foot expo hall floor featured more than 1,800 exhibit booths representing more than 1,000 exhibiting companies. Greenbuild is the industry’s largest gathering of representatives from all sectors of the green building movement. “Generation Green came out in full-force in Chicago, proving that the...

TALLAHASSEE, FLA.—The new year could see the official birth of the American Green Lodging & Hospitality Association (AGLHA), according to Peter Goren, president of the two-year-old organization that still is in the process of obtaining its 501 (c)(3) nonprofit status. The aim of the group will not be to participate in political and legislative lobbying but to focus on education and research. The AGLHA website already includes links to resources helpful to those interested in green lodging—links to government sites such as Energy Star and WasteWise, for example. Goren, who at one time led the Florida Green Lodging program,...